Happy Wednesday Thursday! How is it already Wednesday Thursday and I haven’t talked about food yet?

(Well, for one…because this post was supposed to go up yesterday. But it clearly didn’t.)

In this iteration of my blogginess, I envision sharing with you many blogs that are parts of series. One series that I’d like to do is an oatmeal o’ the week. I figure we all need to get some good soluble fiber into the old diet, but oatmeal can be so…dreadfully….boring. Either that, or it’s so tasteless that you heap cupfuls of sugar on top. So, just in case you need a little inspiration to make your oatmeal taste less like duty (ohh you! you know what I mean) and more like a treat, I’d like to give you some ideas. This week, submitted for your approval: Banana Chocolate Oatmeal.

Some basics first, though. I saw an excellent tip from a dietician recently that you should make your oatmeal with milk rather than water. This increases the protein of the dish significantly, but it also slows down the absorption of carbohydrates, which, if this occurs too quickly, can cause a spike in blood sugar and a subsequent spike in insulin production. So here’s my basic recipe that we’ll use with modifications as we add different flavours every week.

Brooke’s Basic Oatmeal

1 cup skim milk

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (please…don’t bother with the pin oats. Yes, they’re yummy. Yes, they’re trendy. They are also more expensive, go rancid very quickly, and have no more fiber than the rolled oat-jobbies that we all grew up eating.)

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring milk just to the boil.